The War, the Prince, and the False Warrior
by TheSwanWriter
Summary: Loki did not belong in Asgard. That much he knew. What he didn't know was how different he truly was. Despite this, his life was alright. That is, until Jotunheim begins another Great War with Asgard and he somehow falls right in the middle of it. Loki ends up embarking on a quest that leads him to the Nine Lands, a lonely prince, and the truth about his mysterious past. Thorki AU.
1. Prologue

Prologue

-April 15th, 1629.-

"Tell me the story again, Father."

"I've told it to you at least three dozen times before."

"I know, but it's my favorite. Please?"

"Very well. Listen closely, son, perhaps you will catch something you missed the last thirty-six times."

-/-/

"It was 1621, the twentieth of January, in Midgardian tongue, and, unbeknownst at the time, the final day of the Great War between Jotunheim and Asgard. The Asgardians were fighting valiantly, but still losing to King Laufey and his – seemingly unbeatable – army of Jotunn warriors. Finally, after the death of three of the sons of the Asgardian king, the Asgardians were getting closer to winning, but they did not anticipate what happened next.

"In a last attempt to ensure that he would win the war, Laufey made a hasty alliance with the powerful Fire Demon, and longtime enemy of Asgard, Surtur. The army simply watched in horror as Surtur walked onto the battlefield. King Bur Burison, seething with anger at the death of three of his sons, threw himself and, the one weapon able to defeat Surtur, his spear, Gungnir, at the enormous monster.

"With a wave of his fire-covered hand, Surtur threw the king aside. Odin, the last living son of Bur, rushed to the king's side as he lay dying.

"His father dead in his arms, Odin curled his fingers around Gungir's handle, and turned his head slightly. Surtur was approaching him, and he raised his burning sword up with both hands to defeat the prince of Asgard and end the war, but he did not see that Odin was holding the enchanted spear. Just as Surtur was about to bring his sword down, Odin turned and yelled so loud that every warrior in both armies heard him, and plunged his sword into the demon's exposed chest. Surtur let out a cry and flung his hand forward, clawing Odin's left eye, before exploding into ash.

"With renewed vigour, the Asgardians rushed toward the blue-skinned Jotunn army and fought fiercly. Stricken with fear at the death of the legendary demon, Laufey and his army fled into the snowy mountains, and were never seen again.

"The army returned, victorious. They feasted for days, and Odin was crowned king over Asgard. The celebration lasted for months, paling in comparison, however, to the war that had lasted for nearly fifty years. Despite the costs of war, Asgard was rebuilt, and they constructed an enormous wall, the Bifrost, with paths to the nine surrounding lands, allowing trade routes between many of them and Asgard."

-/-/-/

"Father, you left out one of the best parts!"

He feigned a sigh. "What part is that?"

"The part where you found... You know."

"I do seem to be getting rather forgetful. Forgive me."

-/-/-/

"But, before the celebrations, before the coronation, there was one event, important to none but our little family. We went through the camp of our defeated enemy, and I found the most interesting thing, it was a little baby. My wife and I could not have children, you see, so I decided to keep him, and we called him Loki. He was the best thing ever to come into our lives."

-/-/-/

"See Father, now the story has a proper ending."

The former army general chuckled. "Yes, Loki, I suppose it does. Now get some sleep, your mother will not be pleased if she realizes I told you the tale before bed."

"Please, Agni, I've been listening since the beginning," A feminine voice announced, the carrier then entered the dimly lit room. "I may not endorse telling him such stories before bed, but I enjoy the tale as much as young Loki," She smiled.

Eight year old Loki just grinned and settled comfortably into his blankets.

"Come Nessa, Loki needs to sleep," Agni took his wife's hand and they both started to leave.

"Father?"

They turned at Loki speaking up.

"I," He yawned. "I want to be a warrior someday, just like you were."

Nessa blew out the one remaining candle. "You will be, sweetie."

The two adults exited and Loki fell into a peaceful slumber, oblivious to the frowns that were now present on his parents' faces.

"How will we ever tell him?" Nessa said with worry as they entered their room.

"Tell him? That he's a Jotunn and that, added to the fact that he is adopted, which is already frowned upon, he will never be able to be a 'mighty warrior' like me?" Agni shook his head. "No, never."

"He'll figure out the Jotunn part soon enough, why would an Asgardian baby be in that camp?" Nessa said tiredly.

"We can deal with that when he's older," Agni muttered, and sat down his cane, limping into bed on his injured leg.

Nessa just sighed and lay next to her husband, thinking about her son's future.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

A.N. Yeah, this is an AU, so I will take liberties with canon, just so you know. This was simply the prologue, the first chapter should be uploaded tomorrow.


	2. Chapter One

A.N. So, this isn't as popular as FILWTBS was/is. Oh well, I have a lot of fun writing this, much like when I first started writing that one. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter One

January 20th, 1639.

"Loki, wake up or you are going to be late!"

Loki rolled over in his bed and pulled his pillow over his head.

"I do *not* care," He mumbled, barely audible beneath the feather-filled cushion.

Nessa tutted. "You will care when you see your father. You do not wish to disappoint him, do you?"

Loki reluctantly sat up, his messy dark hair falling in his face. "I suppose not."

"Loki," Nessa unlatched the window of his bedroom and let the morning sunlight in. "When you were a boy, you were so excited for the day you would graduate from training to being a fully trained warrior, what happened?"

Loki sighed. "I am not built to be a warrior, Mother."

"Don't be silly, all Asgardians have the ability to be a warrior," She shook her head.

"I know," He murmered.

Nessa, not wanting to speak anymore on that subject, cleared her throat. "Well Loki, I'm afraid you have to go anyway."

"I'm well aware of that," Loki replied, standing up.

"I'll go make you some breakfast, hurry up and get dressed." She patted his shoulder and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Loki walked to his mirror and looked at himself. It was true, he did not possess a warrior's build. He knew that. While he did have skill in battle, he much preferred hanging back in the shadows and using a few soft spoken words to defeat his enemy rather than charging forward, swords swinging and arrows drawn. He'd never met an Asgardian like that, other than those two girls he knew who studied enchanting and magic. (But he tried his best not to compare himself to them.)

He got dressed and thought of the other things that made him different from the average Asgardian.

There was the fact that the cold didn't bother him, not in the slightest. Being January, it was rather cold, and while everyone else went outside in fur cloaks and the like, Loki wore the same clothes he wore the rest of the year. At training, the others usually questioned him about it, but he just dismissed it with an excuse he would come up with on the spot. Although, he hadn't exactly been attending training for the past few weeks, so that issue hadn't come up very recently.

Yes, he had been skipping training. He didn't tell his parents, and hoped it wouldn't make a difference. (He truly knew it would.) Instead of attending the battle training, he snuck off to the palace and watched Amora and her younger sister, Lorelei, get trained in things he cared about more. Namely, magic.

According to Amora (Who he had talked and showed his magic to on a few occasions.), he was exceptionally good at magic, but nobody else knew that. His parents knew he enjoyed studying it, but he figured they assumed it was just a hobby. Loki knew they would accept his interest in it, but he wanted to please them by being the perfect son, the one that was exceptionally good at fighting, enjoyed going off to battle, all that.

Loki finished dressing and went to the door of his room, but stopped immediately when a single thought crossed his mind.

What if he didn't graduate?

The last day of battle training for a warrior in Asgard was their 18th birthday. Loki's was today. That was when they would either receive approval from the trainer and become a member of Asgard's army, or fail. In which case, their trainer would say they were not fit to battle in any future wars and they would retake the entire class or simply not be a warrior and be destined to a life of... well, not being a warrior.

Loki hadn't been attending training, and it wasn't until now that he realized what a stupid mistake that was. If he hadn't been in training, there was no chance he was going to move on.

He wished he hadn't wanted to start training for battle. He was 13, he was lost in an illusion of becoming like his father. There was no way that he would quit when he lost any and all interest. That happened when he was fifteen. He finally realized that he was not a warrior, which was perfectly fine, but not for a son of a former army general. His father was renowned for being one of the best - albeit, retired. - generals Asgard had seen in a great while. He served at the side of Bur in the Great War. For any other boy, not becoming a warrior just meant you would have a different career in your life, but for Loki, it was just another reason to have his father be ridiculed.

Having an adopted son already made sure that that would happen.

He figured it out when he was 12. He figured out why everyone sent condescending looks his way. Being adopted in Asgard wasn't as accepted as his parents liked to make him think. It was almost as despised as being born out of wedlock.

If he didn't pass battle training, his father would never be taken seriously again. Loki never wanted that. He did not care what people thought of him, but his father deserved better.

"Loki, hurry up! Your breakfast is getting cold," He heard his mother say, interrupting his long train of thought.

Loki walked through the door and into the dining room.

"What's happened? You look like you've just seen Surtur reincarnated," Nessa stated with a worried expression.

"I- Nothing, Mother. Thank you for breakfast, I better eat it on the way to training. I'll see you this afternoon," Loki grabbed the food off the plate and left the house.

"You forgot to fix your hair!" Nessa shouted after him, but he was already gone.

Loki ran his hand through his hair, not caring much if it was messy. He glanced at the food in his hand and groaned. He had lost all of his appetite. His parents were extremely diligent about making sure he ate three straight meals a day, they said he was already skinny enough without skipping meals. They wouldn't notice if he didn't eat breakfast just *once*.

Loki tossed it onto the ground away from the path. The animals would devour it and it wouldn't go to waste.

After a few minutes of running, he reached the busiest part of town. Everyone was rushing about to finish their morning chores. Loki didn't really like this part of town. Much too loud, in his opinion.

"Good morning, Loki." He didn't startle a bit at the voice that suddenly appeared next to him.

"Hello Amora. I wouldn't go as far as to call it a good morning," Loki announced.

"Oh, yes, it's your eighteenth birthday, isn't it? Have a wonderful birthday," Amora smirked.

"You know exactly what today means, you sadist," Loki replied harshly.

"Of course. I was just wondering when you were going to figure it out. I'm going to say you discovered it... This morning," She guessed.

"Leave me be," Loki hastened his departure from the bustling streets.

"What are you going to say to your parents?" Amora asked as he left.

Loki didn't have an answer. "You better go to the palace, you'll be late."

Loki's relationship with Amora was... complicated. He met her when he was 14. They didn't get along very well, but she was the closest thing Loki had to a friend. She didn't judge him based upon the fact that he was adopted, which he appreciated. Her younger sister harbored some sort of affection for him, and it was a popular pastime among Loki and Amora to tease Lorelei about it. Amora was a great enchantress, she was so good that she actually got invited to be trained at the palace. They drifted away a bit when he turned 17 and she found out a little secret of his. (You'll find out about that later.) They still talked but they had lost most of their friendship, now it was usually just competition between the two of them.

Loki wasn't ashamed that his only 'friend' was a girl, the guys were just so hard to get along with. They were all boisterous laughter, beating each other up, and then laughing some more about it.

Perhaps that was a bit of exaggeration, but oh well.

Another thing Loki didn't like about most of the guys he met was the way they talked about girls. Always bragging about how many times they'd had sex or whatever. He didn't understand-

Loki stopped walking and looked up from the dirt path. He was where he needed to be, and to be perfectly honest, he was perfectly content with leaving that thought hanging for... ever.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

"Alright, that's it for today. You may all leave, except you Loki," Fandral, the trainer for the group of boys Loki was in, said.

"Yes?" Loki said, trying not to sound quite as nervous as he truly felt.

"You haven't been at training for the past few weeks," Fandral began. Loki mentally winced, leaving his face blank. How could he have hoped to fool him into thinking he knew how to fight? Fandral was a member of the self-proclaimed 'Warriors Three', they went out whenever Asgard needed some beast or rogue Jotunn defeated. If anyone knew how to fight, it was those three.

"Yes sir," Loki answered.

"I *inclined* to let you pass, but your performance today left me less than impressed," Fandral said in his usual overdramatic tone.

"I apologize. I did not eat a decent meal this morning, it left me rather out of sorts," Loki replied, his face still not betraying any emotion.

"I doubt that your performance could have improved by not fighting," Fandral raised an eyebrow. "I am sorry Loki, but I cannot allow you into the army. You wouldn't survive a day in a war."

Loki nodded slightly. "Very well. I shall inform my parents."

"You could always begin again," Fandral suggested.

Loki scoffed. "You jest. You've watched my fighting, I'm a hopeless cause. I do not lack any sense of pride, and I would not damage it and put myself in a class full of thirteen year olds. Goodbye," He said, bitterness evident in his voice.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

On the way home, Loki abandoned all bitterness, and he was just left with disappointment in himself, and sadness. He didn't want to subject his parents to this. He failed them. They treated him so well, and he let them down completely. How would they ever forgive him?

"Loki! How did it go, son?" Agni announced and walked out of the house, leaning on his cane.

"I'm sorry, Father," Loki didn't meet his eyes as he brushed past him, his mother, and into his room, locking the door.

"He failed?" Nessa said, surprised.

"I suppose he did," Agni replied.

Loki sunk to the floor, and couldn't help but overhead bits of his parents' conversation. He could tell his father was disappointed. He should have known better. Worked harder. Not skipped so many days of training. He would've passed and none of this would have happened.

He closed his eyes and held his face in his hands. He didn't move from this position for at least ten minutes, he just sat there.

When he did open his eyes and withdraw his hands, he was shocked at what he saw.

He staggered into his bathroom and looked at himself.

Blue. He was completely blue. His eyes were red. He knew where he had seen this before. No, it couldn't be.

A Jotunn. He was a Jotunn.

"Loki? Loki, we are not upset with you, please come out and talk to us," Nessa pleaded.

Loki opened the door, more like swung it open.

His parents both gasped slightly.

"A Jotunn?! I'm a Jotunn? Why did you never tell me?!" Loki demanded, angry tears forming in his eyes.

"Didn't you eat breakfast?" Nessa asked, hurt to see her son looking so angry.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Loki hissed.

"Loki, calm down," Agni warned.

"So you aren't my parents? And I'm one of the monsters I hate?! How could you lie to me?!" Loki nearly screamed.

"We did it to protect you," Nessa said, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"I thought you loved me, but you hate monsters." Loki just shook his head in angry disbelief and locked himself back into his room, shattering his mirror into hundreds of pieces with his bare fist.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

Midnight, January 20th, 1639.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

Heimdall, head guard of the Bifrost Wall, scanned the fields that sat way below. No one to let in, no one looking to be let out, that was how he liked it. It made his job simpler. He turned his head to the left to see how the other guards were faring, but saw no one.

Heimdall's gaze hardened.

"Boo."

He spun around and saw the last person he would've ever expected to see.

"So, you can go tell your little army that I'm here. I do love a good fight."

-/-/-/-/-/-/

January 21st, 1639

-/-/-/-/-/-/

"Father, I have nothing to do."

Odin looked at his son. "I'm sorry Thor, perhaps you could go observe the training for the armies?"

Thor groaned. "No, that is always the same routine and they never talk to me. May I go to the town?"

"No."

"Why?" He protested.

"You know why, Thor. Or do I have to explain it again? Go talk to Amora, I'm sure she'll be glad for the company," Odin suggested.

"I don't like Amora," Thor stated.

Suddenly, the doors to the throne room burst open.

"Heimdall? What is it?" Odin asked.

"Laufey... he's alive." He announced breathlessly.

Thor looked up. "Father, this is my chance! Please say I can train part of the army!"

"Thor, leave us," Odin ordered.

Thor frowned, but obeyed.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

About thirty long minutes later, Odin left the room and looked at Thor.

"Get ready, you're training them, and we're going to war."

-/-/-/-/-/

"Loki still hasn't left his room," Nessa said, worriedly.

"What do you expect me to do?" Agni replied in a tired voice.

"I don't know, but shouldn't we try explaining it some more?" She suggested.

"Yes, I suppose we should," He agreed.

A door suddenly unlocked and Loki stood there, looking Asgardian once again.

"Loki, let us explain," Nessa asked.

"Go right ahead," Loki sat himself in a wooden chair at their table, looking blue again for a brief moment.

So they explained it all. How they found him in the Jotunn camp, but he wasn't Asgardian, he was, as far as they could tell, part Jotunn. How they'd spent quite a bit of money buying a potion from the palace's head enchantress and sneaking it into all of his meals so they could keep his Jotunn appearance from surfacing in a fluctuating manner like it would otherwise. How nobody knew he was truly part Jotunn, they just knew he was adopted. How they didn't know when they were going to tell him.

"I'm sorry, Loki, we should have told you. We didn't want you to feel different," Nessa explained.

Loki was about to reply, but they heard a horn sound from outside.

Agni went outside, and Nessa, not before giving Loki a small vial of potion so he could drink it if he wanted to go out, followed.

"Asgardians, Laufey is alive. He and his army have returned, and they defeated the sentries at the Bifrost Wall late last night. They have retreated into the mountains, but they will return, and when they do, we will be ready for them. One qualified man from every family is to join the army, whether you are already in it or not. I will read off the names of the oldest male in every family," The guard began listing off names in alphabetical order.

"Agni."

Agni straightened up, and handed his cane to Nessa.

"Father, you can't!" Loki said.

"I must," He replied.

"You won't come back, not with that leg!" Loki protested. "I will go in his place!"

"You cannot, you are not qualified, you didn't pass your battle training," Agni said back, quietly, and walked up to the guard, trying his hardest not to limp. He grabbed the parchment with the details on it and walked back into the house.

Loki shook his head angrily and stalked off. Nessa went back into the house, resisting the urge to follow her son.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

That night, Loki lay in his bed, trying to sleep and trying to ignore the fact that this might have been the last day he would ever see his father. He could hear his mother crying an hour previously, and knew that she knew Agni would die too.

They were both asleep, Loki was the only one awake. He thought for a moment and then rose out of his bed. He knew what he had to do.

He went into his parents' room and picked up the piece of parchment. He wouldn't allow his father to die, not when he could go instead.

He retreated back to his room and opened his wooden wardrobe, pushing his other clothes aside to find what he was looking for.

His father had a special set of leather armor made for Loki for when he would finish army training. It was green and black, Loki's favorite colors.

He swallowed and put it on. He hoped he looked okay, he wasn't going to risk waking his parents up by sneaking into their room just to use a mirror that wasn't broken.

He tugged on the boots that went with it, and snuck out of the house, but not before grabbing his parents' stash of the potion they used to keep him looking 'normal' and swallowing the contents of one of the small vials.

He left, leaving a note behind.

"I love you and I am sorry."

-/-/-/-/-/

A.N. There you go, the true first chapter. Hope you enjoyed. And there will be more of Thor and the Avengers, but it is told from Loki's POV. Reviews are appreciated.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

-/-/-/-/-/

January 22nd, 1639.

-/-/-/-/-/

Now, all Asgardian families had one. One or more. What I am talking about, are spirits. Spirits of their dead ancestors, who would come and aid them in times of trouble. Agni's family was a line of great warriors, nearly as good as the Asgardian royal family themselves, so they always had helpful spirits.

Then there was the... Disgrace. That was what all the other spirits referred to him as. His name was Clinton Barton, and he was a Midgardian that married one of Agni's father's great-aunts. By some freak accident, he ended up becoming a spirit with the Asgardian relatives, rather then... Wherever the Asgardians thought Midgardians went when they died. (All the natives of the Nine Lands have different beliefs, you see.)

The rest of the spirits mocked him endlessly, and he was their sort of servant, simply waking up to do whatever they wanted. Clinton (Clint, he preferred.) was always waiting for the chance to do something amazing and finally be respected by the rest of them, but it never happened.

Naturally, when he noticed that the most recent family member needed help, he wanted to go.

"Nonsense, you shall simply go awaken Tor and he shall help Loki." One of the Ancestors had told him. (Clint didn't bother to remember their names.) Tor, however, was a great warrior and everybody remembered him. He was Agni's great-grandfather. Clint grumbled and went about his duty, going to Tor's grave to wake him.

"Poor Midgardians. I wonder if they're still despised by those stupid Asgardians," Clint muttered under his breath as he reached the grave.

"Tor, uh, that Loki kid needs your help. Awaken!" He waved his translucent hands around, attempting to awake him. "Why couldn't they have done this themselves?" He rolled his eyes.

Tor wasn't waking, and this wasn't a good sign.

"Come on, they hate me enough already. They don't need more things to humiliate me about," Clint groaned.

Tor stayed silent.

"Fine, if you won't wake up, I'll just get someone else to do it," Clint snarked. He stopped and thought.

"Someone else. Someone else..." He glanced around and an idea popped into his head.

"Me! I'll do this, Loki will become a great warrior, and then they'll never mock me again! I'll be spirit royalty! Oh, Clint, you're an amazing genius," He grinned to himself and sped off, flying the way only spirits could.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

Loki stood on a hill, overlooking the camp beneath him. It was certainly big. He sat down with a hopeless sigh.

"I can't do this," He mumbled to the air.

"Yes, you can!"

Loki jumped slightly at the unexpected interruption. He stood up and brushed himself off, looking around.

"Who are you?" He asked, noticing a floating image with a bluish tint to it.

"I am... I am... I am a spirit! Sent by your ancestors to assist you in your brave mission!" Clint announced, rather pleased with his choice of words.

"Ah. I don't see how you're supposed to help me," Loki turned back to face the camp, uninterested with the new arrival.

"I am here to give you advice, as a mighty Asgardian spirit, that is my duty," Clint explained.

"Got it," Loki took a deep breath and began to descend from the hill he was on.

"Hey, where're you going?" Clint demanded, gliding after him.

"I'm going to fight in a war, and hopefully not die in the process," Loki responded.

"Hopefully? That is not the kind of attitude I wish to hear, young man! You are going to win this thing, come back with a metal, and maybe a few battle scars to remember it by!" Clint said loudly.

"Ah, indeed. Now hush, we're reaching the camp, and I think you should probably hide... Or something," Loki shrugged.

"Nah, that's the good part. You're the only one that can see or hear me. Fantastic, huh?" Clint grinned.

"You speak a tad strangely, are you sure you come from Asgard?" Loki questioned.

"Of course!" Clint said quickly.

Loki stepped into the camp and looked around, his face paling slightly.

So. Many. Men.

Obnoxious men, even better.

Loki thought training was bad... He scoffed at that idea. This was worse.

"You alright? You look a little..." Clint waved his hands around. "Red."

"I'm fine," He snapped.

"Suit yourself," Clint mumbled.

Loki really didn't know if he could handle all this. Half these men were running around with their shirts off. Brilliant.

He was too busy trying not to look anywhere that he didn't watch where he was going, and he accidentally walked right into some guy.

"Sorry," Loki mumbled, trying to move away.

The guy however, didn't look too pleased with that apology. "Watch it, next time!" He ground out, and then swaggered off.

Loki glared in his direction.

"Don't do anything foolish," Clint warned, but that fell on deaf ears.

Loki muttered a spell that made a slick patch of ice appear under the man's foot, and he slipped and fell right into some other guy. He glared at Loki and began to march in his direction but was interrupted by the guy he knocked over punching him right in the face. Somehow, it broke out into an enormous fight, with pretty much every man in the camp joining in.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

"Thor, you have seven days to train these men. Seven days, and then they must be ready to fight the Jotunn army," Odin ordered his son. They were sitting in Thor's tent, along with Odin's choice for someone to 'observe' Thor for him, the single female warrior in Asgard, Lady Sif.

"Do not worry, Father, they are an exceptional group of men. I'm sure they will be easy to train," Thor dismissed, as the three exited the tent.

The sight that greeted them was definitely not what any of them (Well, except perhaps Sif.) expected. Probably about 25 tents were torn down and strewn about, and all the men were fighting.

Sif put a hand on her forehead and sighed, Odin shook his head, and Thor looked very agitated.

"Good luck, Thor, you're going to need it, but I do not doubt you," Odin hopped on his horse and led his army away, leaving Thor and Sif with the rest of the men.

"Training begins... now," Sif said sweetly and glanced at Thor.

Thor set his jaw and marched over to the middle of the fight.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

The men all gradually stopped fighting and glanced at the prince.

"Who began this fight?" Thor demanded.

The men glanced around and exchanged whispers before simultaneously looking in the direction of a single person who was trying to hide behind one of the tents. Loki poked out his head and realized they were all looking at him.

"You there! Come here," Thor ordered, pointing to Loki.

Loki walked forward with a calm expression on his face, though he was panicking slightly inside. He realized he probably should've let it go and not sought to slightly humiliate that man, but it was much too tempting.

"Great job, now you've done it," Clint said in his ear, floating alongside him. Loki swatted at him as you would a fly, forgetting nobody else could see the spirit, thus gaining strange looks from the men.

"What is your name, soldier?" The slightly taller, blond man inquired.

"Okay, this where we make up a brilliant name for you. How about Erik? Yeah, Erik's nice," Clint rattled quickly.

"Loki."

Clint groaned.

"Let me see that," Thor asked, gesturing to the piece of parchment Loki was clutching. Loki handed it over.

"Agni? *The* Agni?" Thor looked surprised.

"I thought his wife could not bear children," Sif spoke up, surprised as well.

"Yes, well, he enjoys surprising people," Loki felt extremely grateful that none of the young men from his training class were in this battalion, nor was Fandral. Apparently nobody recognized him.

"He... doesn't mention me much," Loki offered.

"Not a surprise. He does not look like a warrior," Suf remarked quietly to Thor, who nodded slightly, not looking impressed.

"Well," Thor cleared his throat and looked away from Loki, who kept his gaze focused on the blond. "Thanks to your new friend Loki, you'll spend the rest of the night cleaning up and fixing your tents, tomorrow we will begin the real training." With a final glance at Loki, Thor marched back to his tent, Sif following after rolling her eyes and scoffing pointedly at the slightly ashamed and angry men.

"Good job," Loki was not surprised to find that the owner of the voice that uttered said comment was the dark-haired and tan-skinned man he had knocked over earlier.

Loki was not pleased at the first impression he'd made on the men, but he couldn't think of anything to make up for it, so he simply cleaned up and listened to Clint tell him off for making a foolish mistake.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

January 23rd, 1639.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

After cleaning, (Which Loki found exhausting, although that was probably just because he used his magic to help, which was in fact, *more* tiring than cleaning by hand, but he didn't care.) Loki retreated to the edge of camp and claimed a tent for his own. He was grateful to not have to share it with anybody. It prevented him from not having to waste a precious vial of potion to keep himself looking normal through the night.

He dreamt that night about being back home, failing training, and his parents were extremely disappointed, so much so that they kicked him out of the house and disowned him. Then there was a mysterious figure, one whose face he could not see, who invited him to their house to stay, and Loki, for reasons he was not aware of, accepted.

He really couldn't tell if that was a nightmare or not, but he put it out of his mind as he dressed and prepared to go to the middle of the camp.

"So *that's* what a Jotunn looks like with no clothes on," Loki glared at the floating spirit as he finished dressing and swallowed the contents of another vial.

"Shut up," He hissed.

"I didn't mean to offend," Clint made a face.

"I apologize. Well, not really," Loki muttered.

"Very well then. Now hurry up, I think you're already late," Clint warned.

"What?" Loki's eyes went wide and he rushed out of the tent, pulling on the shoes of his training outfit as he ran.

Clint laughed. "And you believed me. That's great."

Loki muttered some insults under his breath as he realized that he wasn't late, but he was just in time.

"Assemble in a line, men," They heard the voice belonging to the Asgardian prince and obeyed.

"Now, I realize that you've all completed five years of battle training, whether or not you decided to join the army after all. This means that you know how to fight, but if you didn't join the army, you're likely out of practice," Thor paced in front of the line. "My job is to get you back in practice."

Loki poked his head out of the line to briefly see what Thor was doing.

"What's the matter?" Clint asked, noticing Loki's change in posture. Then he glanced at Thor, and at Loki again. "Oh. *Oh*! That's... That's-"

"Shut it, spirit, before I cast a spell to keep you quiet for eternity," Loki hissed.

"Yeah, I'm never taking this guy seriously," Loki heard that, again from the dark haired guy. Could he just not keep his mouth shut?

"You there!"

The dark haired guy realized Thor was talking to him, and he stepped forward, looking bored.

Thor drew an arrow, and for a split

second, Loki thought he was going to shoot Sir Snark. Much to his disappointment, he didn't. He shot the arrow up to the sky, straight through a flag hanging high above.

"See the flag I shot through? Your job is to get it down," Thor ordered.

"I could do that in my sleep," Sir Snark commented, rolling his eyes and approaching the extremely tall wooden pole.

"Hmm, very well," Thor said breezily. Sif smirked, obviously guessing what Thor was doing.

Sir Snark attempted to climb the wooden pole, but made it a few feet off the ground before sliding back down with a 'thud'.

"I'll give it a try." A curly-haired man (The one Loki made Snarky Man fall onto the other day.) said. He attempted to climb, but failed as well.

They passed down the line, and eventually it was Loki's turn.

"Agnison," Thor walked up to him.

Loki realized he wasn't exactly paying attention, and Thor was now standing in front of him, looking expectant.

"Good luck."

Loki wondered if that was a genuine comment or if he was being sarcastic. He knew it was probably the latter, but he didn't really care.

Loki studied the pole for a minute and tried to climb it, but slid back down after only a few seconds.

He wondered if Thor looked slightly disappointed or if that was just his imagination.

Clint was being quiet, Loki thought absentmindedly, it was a little quiet.

After everyone finished, still unable to retrieve the flag, Thor looked like he was about ready to give up hope, but Loki got an idea.

"Excuse me, but do you have any specific rules on how we're to get it down?" Loki asked.

"No, just don't damage it anymore than I already did," Thor replied, looking rather interested.

Loki thought about using magic, but then realized that would likely be considered cheating, no matter what Th- *Prince* Thor said. So, he walked up to the semi-thin pole and drew his (Father's.) sword, it was nicely sharp, but it wouldn't do.

"Do any of you have an ax?" Loki asked.

Nobody looked inclined to answer.

"Sif, fetch him an ax from the weapons tent," Thor ordered.

Sif didn't look very pleased with Thor ordering her around, but she obeyed none the less.

She handed Loki a sharpened ax and he took a few swings at the pole. It wouldn't take very many, but his arms weren't exactly in shape. No wonder he failed the other day at training.

After about ten minutes of hacking, the pole fell, nearly hitting a few men. Loki walked to the end and retrieved the flag, and then walked back and handed it to Thor with a smug grin on his face, and then handed the heavy battle-ax back to Sif, who only looked slightly impressed.

"Excellent job, Loki," Thor's gaze followed him as he returned to his position in line. "Now, who's ready for battle training?"

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Battle training didn't go nearly as well as the flag incident. Loki was, to put it frankly, pretty bad at fighting. Every single person he fought had bested him, without much of a challenge as well. He would need to ask Th- there he went again. - *Prince* Thor about using magic to aid him.

Until then, however, he was enjoying a nice time away from the rest of the cold, complaining, and sweaty men, and enjoying a nice bath in (What everyone else would find deathly freezing.) the lake nearby. It was night, and the rest of the men were eating dinner or sleeping, so he figured it would be fine to go without using another vial of potion, even though he knew his current one would wear off if it hadn't already.

"How's the view over there? It's perfectly lovely over here," Clint, floating over on the shore with his hands folded behind his head, remarked.

"I'd appreciate it if you left me be for a little bit, though I do enjoy your company," Loki said sarcastically.

"Suit yourself," Clint shrugged and disappeared. Loki wondered where he went all the time. Probably spying on Sif.

He finished, and got out of the lake, shaking water off his lean frame and, wrapping himself in his green cloak, picked up his clothes and began to make his way back to his tent.

Humming to himself, he realized that he really liked the cold. That was probably his Jotunn self. He didn't like that realization, but accepted it nonetheless.

"Loki? What are you doing out here?"

"Oh *no*. Not him, please, anyone but him," Loki thought to himself.

"You're going to freeze to death!" Thor remarked. "That certainly won't do. Come with me, you can get dressed in my tent, it's the closest."

"No, no, really, it's fine," Loki protested, seriously wishing he had mastered the spell to duplicate himself so he could escape to his tent. Half naked and in Prince Thor's tent? No. Never. No.

"Nonsense. Come with me," Thor insisted and led him away.

Loki gave up protesting, and just followed in silence. Wishing that Clint would pop up again and give him some sort of advice.

Oh no. The potion. What if he turned Jotunn in front of Thor? He wouldn't just be embarrassed, he'd likely be executed!

Perhaps that was being overdramatic... But perhaps not.

Thor didn't look at him as he was leading him to his tent, which Loki was grateful for, considering he turned blue for a split second. At least Amora wasn't here, she'd surely laugh at this when he told her the tale when he got back, and then she'd tell him that his secret really didn't seem very secret and... Loki kind of hoped he wouldn't talk to her again.

Curses, his skin turned blue for a second. It faded quickly. He was surprised it wasn't just present all the time. Probably an after-effect of the potion.

"Here we are," Thor announced. "Sif isn't around right now, she's probably writing a letter to my father or patrolling the camp. It's just you and me I suppose."

"Lovely," Loki muttered.

"I guess you'll just have to suffer in my company," Thor joked, but Loki didn't laugh because he really was suffering.

"Go ahead and get dressed, I'll wait outside," Thor decided, noting Loki's uncomfortable expression.

"Thank you, Prince Thor," Loki brought himself to say.

"Thor is fine." He left the tent.

Loki put his face in his hands for a moment. "Control yourself," He muttered and slipped off the cloak. Getting dressed as fast as he possibly could, he realized he left a vial of potion in a pocket of his pants and he let out a sigh of relief, and swallowed it, realizing he had again turned blue.

Thor reentered the tent.

"Would you like some mead? I'm having some," Thor offered.

"Sure," Loki accepted, feeling like drinking.

"Here you are," Thor handed him a mug and sat next to him on one of the cushions he had on the floor.

"Thank you," Loki replied, trying to keep his guard up. The last thing he needed was getting drunk and blurting out every secret of his to Thor.

"So, mind if I ask you what you were doing out wearing nothing but a cloak, and why," He ran his fingers through a bit of Loki's hair. "Your hair is so wet?"

Loki hardened slightly at the touch. He didn't like people getting in his personal space. What bothered him was that he didn't exactly mind this. "I had an incident in the lake," He said coolly.

"Incident? Why are your clothes so dry?" Thor looked amused. Loki was just somewhat flustered.

"Magic, I'm quite good at it. I just took them off so I could dry them faster," Loki lied.

"Very well then. I suppose your magic makes up for your lack of skill with a blade?" He suggested.

"Something like that." Loki took a nice, long drink.

"I'm wondering why *you* were walking outside all alone. What if a stray Jotunn managed to catch you alone and unaware? Who knows what those... monsters would do?" Loki said with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"I may be a prince but I can take care of myself, Loki. Your concern is touching," Thor grinned and took a drink.

"Hmm. That's not an answer," Loki replied.

"No, I suppose it's not." Thor's mood became serious relatively quickly. "Truth is, it's a habit I have developed over the years of being alone in the palace. I always take a walk alone at night."

"What about that girl, Sif? Does she not accompany you?" Loki suggested.

"Sif? You jest. She does not hold much love for me, despite what it may look like," Thor laughed humorlessly. "I apologize, you do not deserve to be bothered by the troubles of a lonely prince."

"Do you not have any friends?" Loki asked, wondering if the alcohol was the cause of his courage around the prince.

"No, actually. The closest things I have to friends are the Warriors Three. Besides, I'd rather save sharing my private walks for a special person. A betrothed, perhaps," Thor said thoughtfully. He got up and refilled his mug. Loki thought better against that for himself. He was already intoxicated enough.

"Yes, good luck with that," Loki snarked. He didn't know why he was acting like this. Alcohol? Or... No, not that. Never. Not with Thor.

"Why? You doubt a handsome *prince* such as myself could not gain a beautiful lady as a wife?" Thor gestured to himself.

"No, I just doubt you could easily gain one that would think more of you than a business arrangement," Loki said seriously.

"Nonsense!" Thor exclaimed, and just as quickly, changed the subject. "I like you, Loki. Your company is very enjoyable."

Thor was slightly slurring his words, and Loki could tell that alcohol was affecting his words.

"You don't know what you're saying, Thor. You should stop drinking and get some rest. " Loki said curtly and got up, setting down his mug.

"Perhaps you're right. Goodnight Loki." Thor waved sloppily.

"Goodnight," Loki said and left the tent as fast as possible, not wanting to spend any more time with the intoxicated prince.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

A.N. Thank you "ChasingBunnyRabbits" for following my story.

As usual, reviews are appreciated.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

-/-/-/-/-/-/

January 28th, 1639.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

Five days after the incident in the tent, Loki had gotten surprisingly better at his fighting. Perhaps it was because he decided to not even bother asking Thor about using his magic, he just used it anyway.

He hadn't exactly spoken to Thor for those five long days, (Clint wouldn't leave him alone about it.) mainly because he was determined that 'it' was not going to happen, least of all between him and Thor.

Loki found his head full of... well, Thor, and he couldn't get to sleep. So instead, he got up and pulled out the single book on magic he'd brought with him, and studied some difficult spells.

He'd missed studying his magic. Since he'd finished his other studies (Other than training and magic.) when he was seventeen, he mainly focused on his battle training, attempting to forget about how much he disliked the subject.

Now he was finished with that, and as soon as the blasted war was over, he could get back to thinking about magic.

Once the war ended, Thor would go back to the palace.

Loki didn't want to admit why the thought bothered him so much. Perhaps something would happen. Thor said himself that he was lonely, and maybe he'd...

Loki shook that wishful thought out of his head as fast as it appeared. He wasn't going to get... attached, or anything.

Clint chose that minute to float into his tent.

"Thinking about pretty-princey-boy again?"

"Excuse me?" Loki feigned confusion, annoyed with the spirit's typical antics.

"Fine, if you want to remain completely oblivious to your feelings, go right ahead," Clint shrugged. "Maybe you should get out of your lonely little tent and go eat breakfast like a social person."

"Breakfast?" Loki put out the torch he had lit and realized that the sun was indeed up. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt, but they don't like me very much."

"If they get to know you, they will. Get off your 'slothful backside' and be a person!" Clint said enthusiastically.

"Slothful backside?" Loki mouthed to himself in confusion, but he got dressed and left his tent, Clint sailing after him, per usual.

"Well, look who decided to join us!"

"Not him..." Loki muttered under his breath and resisted the urge to put his face in his hands.

Sir Snark made his way over to Loki and put out a hand. "Anthony Stark, though I prefer Tony. I know we didn't start off on the right foot, but that wasn't my fault."

Loki knew that he didn't even attempt to hide the insult at the end, he shook his hand anyway. "Loki Agnison, but you already knew that," He said quietly.

Two more men made their way over to them.

The taller one, a blond, held out a rather large hand. "Steven Rogers, call me Steve. I like the way you did the whole, you know, flag thing. Intelligent," He said.

"Ah, thank you." Loki was surprised they were actually being nice to him, but he would accept it. As long as they didn't get in his personal space, that is.

The one with the curly hair put out his hand. "Bruce Banner. Steve and I have been friends for ages."

"Pleased to meet you. Are you all Midgardians?" Loki asked.

"Yeah, Bruce and I moved to Asgard a couple years back," Steve said. "I run a bakery, and he always wanted to move to Asgard, especially after his betrothed ran off with another man."

Loki was slightly amused at the idea of the muscular blond running a bakery, but he said nothing.

"Yeah, I didn't want to deal with my father any longer, so I moved to Asgard about six months ago. When I heard about the war, I couldn't not join. Anything to fight a couple of Jotunns, huh?" Tony grinned. Loki nodded, pushing away the thought that if Tony knew he was a Jotunn he might fight him too.

"Sit with us?" Bruce offered. Loki really couldn't think of anything better to do, so he agreed. Not before looking outside and seeing Thor walking around with Sif.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Thor was walking around the campgrounds, making sure all his warriors were still in good health, when Sif approached him.

"Thor, I have received news from your father," She announced.

"Don't delay, tell me," Thor said.

At that moment, they walked past the large tent where everyone ate their meals. Though Sif began to tell him what Odin had said, Thor wasn't paying attention once he caught sight of someone watching him from the inside of the tent.

Loki.

Perhaps the reason he stood out to Thor was because he seemed like he understood Thor's loneliness.

Perhaps it was foolish. They had only talked for ten minutes, how could he possibly tell what he was like?

"Thor?"

Sif snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Did you hear a word I said?" She asked with a sigh.

"Yes, not that I *remember* what it was," Thor said, grinning to recover from his spaced-out moment.

"Very well, listen this time. Odin has written me, he told us to be ready to meet him at his camp directly outside the exit of the Bifrost Wall. He said to leave tomorrow," Sif repeated.

"Very well, thank you, Sif," He replied.

"You should stop thinking about him."

"What? Who?" Thor asked.

"Whatever his name was... Loki. I don't know why he's occupying your thoughts, but it will interfere with your performance in battle," Sif stated before turning on her heel and stalking away.

"That requires an explanation, Sif!" Thor demanded, but she was already gone. Thor was left alone, slightly confused and wondering what exactly she had been trying to say.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Battle training went relatively smoothly that afternoon. Loki was slightly out of breath, but he wasn't chilled like the rest of the men, which he took comfort in. He was beginning to return to his tent when he was interrupted.

"Hello Loki. I wish to speak with you."

Loki stopped walking as he responded, "What is it?"

"No 'hello' back?" The prince said, placing his hand on Loki's shoulder and falling into sync with his long, purposeful strides.

"I'd rather you just get to the point," Loki said, not looking at him and shaking off the hand.

"What is the matter? You're acting like I've done something wrong," Thor accused.

Loki rolled his eyes. "I was not, no need to be so accusatory. Now, what is it you wished to discuss?" He finished impatiently.

Thor frowned but continued, "You are a good warrior, much better than you look. I was simply wanting to compliment you."

"I am in no need for any pointless flattery, least of all from you. Goodbye," Loki replied coldly and began to stalk off.

Thor wasn't going to let that slide. Sif was an accomplished warrior, and a woman. Loki was... neither. He was not going to allow him to just march off in such a disrespectful manner. He was a *prince*!

"No, you will not leave. You are going to explain why you refuse to have a civil conversation with me, and then you are going to apologize!" Thor ordered, blocking Loki's path by standing mere inches away from him.

"Pulling the prince card now, are you? Well, it doesn't make a difference to me. You are not the king, I will not treat you like you are," Loki said icily.

Thor would later wonder why he was getting so agitated and angry, but at the moment he didn't care. "It is your duty, as a loyal Asgardian, to obey me!" He said, leaning even closer into Loki's personal space.

"I am not-" Loki began but stopped. "I don't..." He took a deep breath and backed away. "Leave me alone." He didn't know why his feelings were being erratic, but he had a relatively good idea. So rather than explain, he fled the scene, leaving an exasperated and bewildered Thor behind.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Clint was having a good week. Good compared to his... 70 boring years of being dead.

He had a purpose again, (Other than doing whatever the other spirits wanted him too.) and his little 'protégé' had friends and... was running into his tent, fuming.

"What happened, kiddo?" Clint frowned as he swept in.

"Leave. Me. Alone," Loki hissed.

Clint whistled. "Okay, someone's in a *pretty* nasty mood. What crawled-"

"I'm not having a very good day right now, and I want to be left alone!" Loki yelled and stormed out of the tent.

Clint nearly followed, but thought better of it and stayed behind. For about two minutes until he decided to go play some poltergeist-esque pranks on the soldiers.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Loki had left to the only place where he knew he would be left alone by the warriors, Thor, and Clint; The lake.

He shed his training outfit and slid into the water, letting out a sigh as he did. Cold water was *exactly* what he needed, aside from a good smack upside the head to bring him back to reality.

Loki knew exactly why Thor had been occupying his thoughts for the past five days. Nobody else would have any clue. Well, except Amora and maybe Clint.

That was Loki's little secret. The one he was nearly as protective of as his being a Jotunn. Loki... for lack of any better wording that he could think of, was not sexually attracted to girls.

He never had been. Perhaps he just hadn't met the right one, but he never saw the appeal of having sex, with a female that is.

Males, however, were an entirely different story.

*Thor* was an entirely different story.

Amora knew all about that ever since she walked in on him doing a rather... questionable activity while thinking of one of the guys in his training class. (Who'd graduated soon after that little incident.) She wasn't about to tell anyone, but they weren't nearly as close after that. Loki still didn't know why.

But Thor... he was different. Loki couldn't be attracted to Thor. He really wished that he just wouldn't be attracted to anyone. A prince was the absolute worst-case scenario. And Thor just had to be so annoyingly oblivious to everything. He was the epitome of an extrovert, and he seemed to be quite fond of physical contact with no concept of personal space. (If how he kept getting in Loki's was any indication.)

For a fleeting moment, he thought it would be possible for Thor to feel the same. But that was laughably wishful. Besides, after the war, Loki would just return home and forget any of it ever happened. Including every single foolish thought of Prince Thor.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

Thor wasn't in a very good mood. His day wasn't going at all like he wanted it to. He had gone to talk to Loki because he liked Loki. He didn't have many - Any. - friends, and he'd always longed for one. He didn't care if he was 20 years old and that was a childish wish, everyone needed someone to talk to. His father had Frigga. Thor wanted someone like that.

But *certainly* not with Loki, he wanted to be friends with him. That was all.

But obviously, Loki felt nothing for him. Friendship or otherwise. He just didn't care. In fact, Thor was beginning to feel like Loki disliked him.

Was it what happened five days prior? Perhaps Loki was embarrassed. Thor didn't know why he would be, but he was an... interesting character.

Whatever the reason, Thor was used to getting what he wanted. And if he wanted Loki- to be friends with him, of course- then he would get Loki. To be friends with him.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

January 29th, 1639.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

They began walking. A lot of walking. Loki didn't normally enjoy lots of walking, but this time it was different.

Loki was enjoying the journey. He found that Steve, Tony, and Bruce made somewhat pleasant company, (Clint was being kind enough to leave him alone.) and he saw Thor multiple times without having to suffer through talking to him. (In fact, he had a rather lovely view the whole time, since he and his acquaintances walked in the front right behind Thor and Sif who were leading them.)

They had been walking for about three hours when Tony began to start a conversation Loki really didn't want to participate in.

Women.

"I have a gorgeous redhead waiting for me in Midgard. I promised I'd come back for her," Tony said, flaunting the fact.

"I have a woman back in Midgard as well, but I am fairly sure she does not wish to speak with me ever again," Bruce stated dryly. Loki wondered what had happened.

"What about you, Steve?" Tony asked.

"Me? Woman? No, no, I am a perfectly eligible bachelor," Steve replied.

"Nonsense, a handsome, tall, blond like yourself? You must have had someone back there," Tony pointed out. Loki was fairly certain that Steve's face went a few shades darker.

"No, I had nothing and no one that made me want to stay in Midgard. My one friend, other than Bruce, died a while before I moved, and the only woman I've ever loved was my friend Margaret, but her family moved away," Steve said.

"Very well. Loki, I bet you had all the women running for you, do tell, who did you love?" Tony grinned.

Loki really wished they wouldn't have talked to him. "Uh, well... women, indeed. I would rather not talk about it."

"That is not a good answer," Tony frowned. "We're all friends here, and I can tell that you're hiding something," He persisted.

"Tony, if he doesn't wish to talk about it, maybe you should let it go," Steve warned.

Tony made a face, obviously not going to listen.

"I am not hiding anything," Loki replied coolly.

Tony scoffed. "I'm a lie-detecting *genuis*, I can tell when someone is hiding something."

Loki knew that he was a very good liar - Most of the time. - so he figured Tony was probably just pushing him on a wild guess.

"Steven is correct, if Loki does not wish to talk about it, you should leave him alone."

Loki didn't even bother to hide his scowling at Thor's intrusion into their conversation.

"Oh Loki, is the big, strong prince saving your poor damsel in distress self?" Tony said mockingly.

Loki could probably have strangled Tony then and there.

Thor just grinned.

"No, no, I am absolutely fine. To be honest, I do have a woman waiting for me at home. Her name is Lorelei, she's a lovely girl, and if and when I return, I am planning on asking her to marry me," Loki lied through his teeth, and saw Thor's smile falter slightly. "So, thank you, Prince Thor, but I am absolutely perfect, and I do not require saving, least of all by you." Loki glared at him and then marched away from the walking group, moving to the back of the line.

"Prince, I'm sure he didn't mean any disrespect, I don't know why he's acting like that but we have nothing to do with it," Bruce said and raised his hands in surrender.

"Yes..." Thor said simply, nobody understanding exactly what he meant. He then returned to the front, beginning a discussion with Sif, and trying to understand why he felt so upset at the news of Loki's upcoming engagement.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

A.N. Thank you to Asrial, All Apologies, Yaoifanfake, Kopanda, Animeluvar4evar, and ChinaE for the favorites and/or follows.

As usual, reviews are appreciated.


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

-/-/-/-/-/-/

January 29th, 1639.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

It was late in the afternoon when they finally reached Odin's camp. It certainly was a sight for tired eyes.

Thor told the men to go set up their tents, and he and Sif left to go talk to Odin.

"Father, we have arrived," Thor announced, entering his tent.

"Very good, Thor. I take it your men are ready for war?" He turned to Sif as he said that.

Sif nodded. "Indeed, your Highness. Thor has done an adequate job of training them." Thor gave her a small glare at the word 'adequate' but stayed silent.

"Very good," Odin stood up from where he had been sitting. "I have new orders for you, Thor."

"I expect you'll be asking me to lead my men to the front lines when the time comes. I most certainly will," Thor responded.

"No, I was not going to ask that of you. I am pleased your men are ready for war, but there is something else you must know." Odin sighed. "Laufey's small remaining army has increased by tenfold since last we saw them, eighteen years ago. No matter how many Asgardians we rally, we cannot hope to beat them. We will fall, Asgard will fall, and the rest of the Nine Lands will soon follow. I am asking you, my son, to gather a small band of warriors, and get... help."

Thor was shocked at this news. "Father, my place is here, with my men, fighting Jotunns! I will not retreat to find help from outside sources much weaker than our own!"

"Do not argue with me, Thor! I may be your father, but I am also King of Asgard, and I am ordering you to obey me!" Odin demanded.

Thor stayed silent.

"Sif will remain here," Sif almost complained at this. "You and your men leave in the morning. I have horses waiting for you. You may go." Odin dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

"I do not believe this!" Thor yelled angrily once he and Sif were out of earshot. "Does my father think me weak? Does he believe I can not fight well? Does he doubt me? He is wrong! I can slay anything that stands in my path!"

"Calm yourself, Thor," Sif warned. "The reason your father is sending you is *because* he trusts you. He wants you to make a good king someday, and kings must know how to be diplomatic as well as fight. I am only sorry I am not accompanying you." Sif turned and left.

"Fine then! Is everyone on his side?" Thor shouted after her.

It took about thirty minutes for Thor to calm his anger. He realized that nothing could be done to sway Odin from his decision, so he grudgingly accepted it.

Men. He needed to find men. A good group that would protect him and aid him on his journey.

He went off to find the owner of the first name that popped into his head.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"No."

"I dema- wish to know why. You and your friends are a valiant group of warriors. They will likely agreed, why will you not?" Thor asked.

"I do what I want." Loki realized that was a dull excuse, but he couldn't think of anything better to say.

"Not a good reason. Is it not an honor for you to be recruited into a mission assigned by King Odin himself?" Thor didn't know why Loki kept saying no. But then again, perhaps he thought his place was on the front line as well. Thor could understand that.

"I'm sure it is an honor, but not for me." Loki actually wouldn't mind taking a journey away from everyone in the army, but certainly not with Thor.

"If you join me, you'll have a few more tales to tell your future betrothed when you return."

"My what?" Loki cursed inwardly as he said that. "Lorelei. Yes, of course. No, I'm afraid I must decline." Loki brushed past him as he quickly walked away.

Thor sighed. Perhaps Loki's friends would agree, but it didn't seem as appealing if he wasn't coming.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

Loki walked into his tent and sat on the ground.

Was it a good idea to decline Thor's request? Thor probably thought he hated him.

Hmm, it was probably better that way.

Clint passed through the tent and joined Loki.

"I am so tired of being silent. It's great to be able to talk again," Clint said, referring to earlier in the day when Loki had been surrounded by people and refused to allow Clint to speak to him. "What's got you down?"

"Nothing," Loki dismissed.

"Mmm-hmm, I am definitely believing that. Tell me," He replied.

"I hope you'll shut up again if I do. Thor invited me to go with him on a mission for King Odin. He says we need to go and recruit help, because Laufey's army has 'increased tenfold.' I declined," Loki explained, expressionless.

"Ah, and now you're wondering if that was the right thing to do and Thor won't leave your head. Am I right?" Clint guessed. Loki refused to gratify the spirit with a response.

"I'm taking that as a 'yes.' Trust me, get out there and tell him you'll go. While you're at it, tell him you aren't really going to be engaged and then kiss him senseless. Agreed?" Clint grinned.

"Wha...? No! Oh, you're no help at all, spirit!" Loki shook his head.

"And I'm sure that you aren't imagining my scenario in your head at this moment," Clint continued nonchalantly.

Loki flushed slightly. "Quiet, you." He left the tent.

"You could at least try!"

-/-/-/-/-/

Thor was beginning to walk back to Odin's tent and tell him who would be accompanying him. Steven, Anthony, and Bruce had all agreed to go along.

If only Loki would change his mind. Thor debated going and asking one more time, but he decided against it. Thankfully, he didn't even have to.

"Thor."

"I don't suppose you've changed your mind," Thor said, turning to face him.

"Ah, yes. Well, I suppose I just needed some time to decide. I will accompany you," Loki responded, looking directly into Thor's eyes.

Thor restrained from showing how pleased he was about that with one of his typical grins. "What changed your mind?" He asked, unaware of the fact that he had just taken a step closer to Loki.

Loki was aware of it, but stayed put. "I... I just decided I wanted to."

"I am glad." Thor was inches away now. Loki refrained from doing something 'stupid', but Thor didn't. He leaned in a bit closer. Loki could feel the warmth of his breath now.

Loki swallowed. "So, when do we leave?"

Thor realized what he'd been doing, and backed away quickly. "Tomorrow morning, I will come and get you when we are ready to depart," He turned but glanced at Loki once more before leaving. "Good night, Loki."

Loki was left alone, bewildered and wondering if that had just happened. He felt a little hot. He turned and left for his tent, quite flustered and not exactly looking forward to the next day.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

January 30th, 1639.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Jotunns. They were surrounding them. Thor and Loki continued to fight, despite the overwhelming odds.

Minutes later, the Jotunns were all dead at their feet. How it happened, Loki had no idea. He was grateful all the same.

They heard the shouts of the army. They'd won. The battle was won.

Thor started cheering, Loki just smiled. Thor then turned to him and pressed his lips against Loki's.

After a few blissful seconds, Thor pulled away and opened his eyes and looked at Loki.

Loki smiled at him but Thor had a look of horror on his face. He staggered backwards and picked his sword up from the ground. Loki tried to ask what he was doing, but then he realized that Thor's sword had been put right through his stomach.

"Now the war's been won, every last, filthy, Jotunn monster is dead." He then smirked and turned away.

Loki looked at his hands. They were blue. Then he looked at Thor. "But... I love you." The words sounded strange. Twisted and strangled. It wasn't Loki's normal voice. It sounded evil.

Thor laughed humorlessly. "You can't love me," He turned back to Loki. "Monsters can't love."

Loki shot straight up where he lay.

A dream. Just a dream.

Loki realized his breathing was raggedy, and that tears had formed in his eyes.

He took a deep breath. A nightmare.

He looked around the tent. Clint must've disappeared sometime during the night. He was alone. He sat up.

The worst part was that it was all true. He was a monster. How could he love? Monsters couldn't love. Thor would never love a Jotunn.

Loki really didn't try to prevent the tears from leaving his eyes, though no more started to fall, it was probably because of the dream.

"Loki, we leave in fifteen minutes," Thor poked his head inside the tent. "Are you well?" His tone changed immediately when he saw Loki, who was not pleased with the intrusion whatsoever.

"Do you have no concept of privacy?" He snapped. Thor left just as quickly as he had arrived.

Loki realized he probably shouldn't have been so harsh, but he really didn't want Thor's concern or pity. He was not some weak and fragile child. He could manage perfectly fine on his own.

Thor would probably bring it up again later, and likely when they were in front of other people. Wonderful.

Loki wiped his face with the back of his hand. He could handle a simple nightmare. It didn't scare him.

What may have slightly scared him was the fact that it might actually happen.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"My son says you are all excellent warriors. I trust his judgement. I also trust you all to help protect him," Odin was giving them all their orders but none of them were fully listening, except for Bruce. Steve was watching Tony, Tony was messing with his fingernails, and Loki's gaze never left Thor, who was listening to his father and staring off into space.

"Now go. I pray you will not fail," Odin stated grimly. "Meet us back here as soon as you can."

"Yes, Father." Thor nodded and turned. "Come friends, let us depart."

They all mounted their various horses and trotted out of the camp and through the doors of the Bifrost wall.

"Where should we head to?" Bruce asked.

"Let us ride south. We will go from there," Thor ordered, and the group of five sent their horses into a gallop, the Wall, Asgard, and the camp growing smaller in the distance.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

January 31st, 1639.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

They rode all day before deciding to make camp.

In case you were wondering, Clint didn't stop babbling the whole time.

They ate a dinner of cold meat, bread, and mead. (Tony brought it for a last treat before they'd have to suffer from warm water the rest of the trip.) Loki went easy on the mead though, he didn't want to end up all drunk or something. Clint was nice enough to remind him to mix a vial of potion into his drink, not that he would've forgotten anyway.

It was probably about 5 AM. Bruce, Tony, and Steve had all fallen asleep already, and Loki was lying awake, watching the sun begin to rise. He swallowed a vial of potion, realizing the effects of his last one were likely to wear off soon.

"Loki?" Thor was apparently awake as well.

"Yes?" Loki whispered back.

"What was the matter? Yesterday morning, in your tent," Thor murmered. He was laying right next to Loki, of course.

"A nightmare, I had a nightmare," Loki replied quietly.

"Must've been a dreadful nightmare to make you cry," Thor said.

Loki tensed up. "I was not crying."

"Yes, you were. What was it about?" Thor pressed further.

Loki didn't want to think about it, but found the memory of the dream resurfacing anyway. "I... don't wish to talk about it."

"I'm sorry if I was prying. You don't have to tell me," Thor replied and rolled over. His back was to Loki now.

Loki didn't know why, he didn't want to, but he found himself telling Thor anyway. "We were fighting Jotunns," He began. "They surrounded us, but we managed to defeat them anyway. We won the war, and... and then you stabbed me. Then I woke up. I don't know why I cried," Loki explained, though not fully.

Thor propped himself up on his elbows. "I stabbed you? Do you distrust me so much?"

Loki sat up as well. "It was a dream, Thor," He responded softly.

"I would never kill you!" Thor whisper-yelled. "Loki, I am very fond of you. I would never do anything to hurt you." Thor placed a hand around Loki's neck. "Don't ever think I would."

Loki felt himself getting warm. "I know." His voice was even quieter. "I was unsettled. That is all." He murmered, barely a whisper.

Thor was staring intently at Loki, then he leaned in. Again. For the second time in two days.

They closed their eyes. Their lips were centimeters apart.

All of the sudden, Thor fell backward and clutched his side, letting out a cry of pain.

Loki looked down to find an arrow protruding from Thor's side.

"It's an ambush!" Thor cried.

The other three woke up almost immediately and reached for their weapons. Tony picked up his bow, Steve lifted his sword and his perfectly round shield, and Bruce grabbed his hammer.

"Thor, just stay still. We'll get help," Loki couldn't help but sound a bit panicked.

"Get over there," Thor hissed. "And help them fight. I'm fine, I can fight to." He moved to get up.

"Don't even think about it," Loki ordered and grabbed his sword, rushing to whoever had made the foolish decision of ambushing the group.

Jotunns. Of course. Loki figured they'd probably been following them since they left.

Instead of using his sword, he used a few softly spoken words and knocked over the Jotunn that Tony was aiming at. Tony let an arrow loose and it hit right on its target.

One down, five more to go.

Bruce swung his long battle hammer at a tall Jotunn. Loki had seen him training. Bruce, while usually a freakishly calm man, was the master of brute force. Loki was honestly surprised that he didn't just pummel the enemies into the ground with his bare fists.

Never mind, he just did.

Two down.

Steve threw his shield at a Jotunn that had begun to advance towards Tony. Loki wondered if it had been enchanted to always come back to its owner. The Jotunn laid on the ground and Steve drove his sword through him. Bruce killed another that was approaching Steve.

Four down.

One, Loki figured it was probably the leader, was nearing Thor. Loki rushed at it and swung his sword as hard as he could. He used magic to heat up the blade, and it sufficiently wounded the blue skinned creature.

"Ah, Laufey will b-b-be pleased to know we have... found you," The Jotunn spat out before dying.

Loki looked at it in shock. Laufey? Why would he care about Loki?

"Prince Thor!"

Loki was brought back to the present by Steve's shout.

"It is not too severe," Thor protested.

"It wouldn't be, except for the fact that it was a poisoned arrow," Steve stated. "Jotunns almost always do that."

"Poison? Well, that's not good. What are we going to do? We don't have the supplies nor the experience to treat him," Tony said.

"I knew a healer back in Midgard. He trained me how to treat a few different wounds, but unfortunately, poison arrows were not one of them." Bruce shook his head.

"We have to do something!" Loki demanded, pressing a bit of cloth to Thor's side in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

"Midgard's very close. We should go there. It's closer than camp," Steve suggested.

"Good idea, Blondie. Someone get him on a horse," Tony ordered.

Two of the horses had escaped in the attack. So Loki rode alone, Thor was on the back of Bruce's horse, and Steve and Tony shared a horse.

They galloped away as fast as they could.

Loki didn't realize he'd left his bag behind.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

A.N. Thank you Hiya120, JessietheCuteus, Yaoifanfake, Dulzura Letal, Darkshadowarchfiend, New Moongirl, Carbonitedoubleohneg, and Madlyinlove69 for the favorites, follows, and reviews. Thank you as well to everyone else who is following/favoriting my story already.

Reviewing make my day, and I'll give you cookies if you do.


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

January 30th, 1639.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

They'd been riding for only about an hour when Loki took a quick glance at Thor.

"He's getting worse," Loki remarked.

It was true. Thor's face was pale and his breathing was ragged.

"He won't survive like this much longer, what are we going to do?" Bruce said, slowing his horse.

"I'm the fastest rider, put him on my horse. I can get him to Midgard and the rest of you can meet me there," Loki decided.

"Bad idea. I don't think we should split up," Tony shook his head.

"Tony, if we don't, he'll die," Steve interjected. "The *prince* will *die*. Thor will die. He's our friend. We can't let that happen. Odin sent us to protect him, and that's what we'll do."

Tony sighed, but hopped off their horse and helped Bruce put Thor on the back of Loki's horse.

"Be careful," Steve warned.

"Of course."

Loki felt a cold gust of wind, and recognized it immediately.

"Clint, would you stay with my friends? I would appreciate it if you could keep an eye on them," He whispered, preparing to ride.

"Anything you want, except I'd hurry, because-" Before the ghost could finish his sentence, an arrow whizzed through him and sunk into the trunk of a tree right past Tony's head.

"More Jotunns!" Steve yelled.

Loki looked behind them in disbelief, but then realized Steve was right. One Jotunn must've escaped, there had been six and only five had died. He must've gotten some reinforcements.

"They're after Thor, if we leave, you'll be safe," Loki deduced, though he was mostly guessing, but he hoped he was right.

"Loki, wait!" Tony began but Loki galloped off as fast as he could, several blue Jotunns on dark and menacing horses following close behind him.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"Keep riding," Loki breathed. "Keep riding." The Jotunns were still in pursuit, and Loki had no clue if he was nearing Midgard or not. Bruce had said if they kept to this direction they'd come upon the river Via Lactea, which surrounded all of Midgard.

Another arrow flew past, this time implanting itself in his shoulder. Loki mumbled a quick spell that, if he remembered correctly, would diminish the effects of any small amount of poison, and by small, he meant minuscule. But hopefully it would hold off the effects long enough to get to Midgard.

"Come on, Loki. You can do this," Loki pushed his horse harder.

In the distance, he saw a river, a beautiful river, swirling with white foam and the sunlight reflecting on the water made it appear several different shades of blue. He would've enjoyed it more if he hadn't been running for his and the man he was in love with's lives.

He galloped across the river, his horse almost lost his footing in the water, but they made it across. Unfortunately, it looked like the Jotunns had no idea of stopping.

Loki started feeling a bit lightheaded, and it was then that he realized his spell had no lasting effect on the poison. He was going to die, and Thor would die with him.

One of the Jotunns shouted something, and the Loki's horse reared, tossing him and Thor both to the ground.

At that moment, a white horse arrived on the scene. On its back was a woman with the reddest curls of hair Loki had ever seen.

"Jotunns!" She shouted, approaching the river. "Do you not know of the truce Laufey made with our king? You will not set foot across that river, or we will take that as an act of war! Though I know you would not hesitate to shoot these two men dead, they are under Midgardian protection now, and we will count killing them as an act of war as well. Now run back to your leader, and inform him that Prince Thor and his company is protected by the armies of Midgard until further notice, and it would be folly to wage war over this. This is not the day for war, now begone!"

Loki couldn't believe his eyes when the three Jotunns actually turned around and left. He wondered if the poison caused hallucinations as well.

The last thing he saw before slipping unconscious was the concerned face of the red-headed woman asking him something unintelligible.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

February 4th, 1639.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Loki awoke to a face of a dark haired man with kind, blue eyes looking down on him.

"Who are you?" was the first thing he asked.

"My name is Charles Xavier. I'm a healer, and you," Charles paused and sat back in his chair. "are very lucky. So is your friend. The prince, isn't he?"

"Uh, indeed. How long was I out?"

"Five days, give or take," Charles said, turning his back to Loki and filling a glass of water.

Loki looked at his hands in a panic, only to find that they seemed to look, well, Asgardian. They didn't seem to be changing color. What was going on?

Charles turned back to him and handed him a mug. "Drink up, you need it."

Loki drank and almost spit it out.

Charles laughed. "Erik whipped it up for you, said it had healing properties and to give it to you when you awoke."

Loki took another sip. "He's a sorcerer, isn't he? I know a potion when I taste one."

"Yes, he is," Charles stood up. "And a very good... friend of mine."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.o

"Come in," Charles said.

A taller man with short brown hair entered the room.

"Erik, come in, our guest is awake. I was just giving him that potion you made," Charles explained.

"I figured as much, judging by the look on his face," The man called Erik said as he leaned up against the wall by the door.

Loki couldn't help but be on his guard. He didn't know these men and the effects of the potion had surely worn off by now. He needed his pack.

"I don't suppose I could go find my pack? It should be on my horse," Loki asked, sitting up.

"Pack? I'm afraid there were no packs on your horse," Erik said.

Loki panicked a little bit. He'd left it. He'd left it sitting at their old campsite. Oh. No.

"Erik's used a spell to keep you looking... normal," Charles announced as if he had read his mind.

Loki tensed up immediately. "It's not what you think, really. I'm part Jotunn, but I was adopted by an Asgardian warrior when I was a baby, I'm not working for Laufey, but I kept my appearance hidden because I was afraid they wouldn't allow me in the army," Loki explained quickly.

Charles exchanged a look with Erik and laughed a little bit.

Loki got a peeved look on his face. "What's so funny?"

"My friend, I have a... gift. I can read minds. When we – that is, me and Erik. – found out about your little 'secret', I read your mind to see if we should report you to the king and alert Odin or if your intentions were innocent, they are, so we kept your secret and Erik's kept your appearance normal so you can have visitors and keep your identity hidden. I'm sorry I had to read your mind, some people feel quite violated by it."

Loki did too, but he held onto a strand of hope that Charles hadn't spotted his other 'secret'.

"Are you reading my mind right now?" Loki asked.

"No, I control it and I won't read your mind unless you allow me to," Charles explained.

"Ah, that's good, I suppose..." Loki sunk into his bed.

Erik was saying something under his breath.

"What was that?" Loki asked.

"Just the spell keeping you looking normal," Erik replied.

There was another knock on the door.

"Come in," Loki said.

"Loki, nice to see you're awake." It was Bruce who spoke, but Steve and Tony entered with him.

"Where's Thor?" Loki inquired.

"Still asleep," Steve replied.

"Yeah, but Charlie over there says he should be awake soon," Tony said.

"Charles," Erik and Charles corrected in unison.

"Charlie, Charles, does it matter?" Tony shrugged.

A cool breeze drifted through.

"Hello Clint," Loki murmured as everyone else talked amongst themselves.

"Loki! You're all 'oot and aboot' huh?" Clint sat at the end of his bed.

"If by that you mean 'alive and breathing', yes," Loki answered.

"More like out and about but whatever. Your boyfriend's still asleep, by the way."

"He's not my boyfriend," Loki hissed.

"So, ready to try some oh-so-magnificent Midgardian cuisine? We're at the palace so it should be pretty delicious," Tony announced, clapping his hands together.

"You go ahead, I'll just get dressed and meet you there," Loki replied, gesturing to the sort of dressing gown he was currently in.

"Come along, Rogers, let's go eat our hearts out!" Tony slung an arm around the slightly taller man's neck and led him away, Bruce trailing behind.

"Here you go, I believe this are yours. They've been washed for you," Charles said, handing Loki his familiar armor and green cloak.

"Thank you."

"The washroom's right over there." Erik gestured to a door on the other side of the room.

Loki nodded and walked into the washroom.

It was really quite lovely. Midgardians didn't have the same kind of decorative taste that Asgardians did, but they had quite the knack for making amazing buildings. Loki had never been in a palace before anyways.

He wondered how Thor was doing.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

After fixing his hair a little bit (It still wasn't laying quite right.) and getting dressed, he went back into his room where Charles and Erik were still talking.

"Do you know where Th- Prince Thor's room is? I wish to see how he is faring, because we – me and my friends. – were assigned to make sure he stays safe and I wish to perform my duty, um, correctly," Loki blurt out.

"My friend, no need to hide your concern for him. I understand completely," Charles replied.

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you're talking about," Loki responded.

"Your attraction to the prince, of course," Erik said, rolling his eyes.

"Excuse me?" Loki feigned shock.

"Don't think I don't recognize another like us when I see one," Charles looked slightly amused.

"Wait. You and him...?" Loki gestured to Charles and Erik.

"Yes, him and me. We keep it a secret though, it's a hanging offense in Midgard," Erik scoffed. "Close-minded simpletons."

"Erik," Charles scolded. "I apologize for him, he has an ego the size of the Nine Lands," He said as he led a surprised Loki out the door.

"I do not!" Erik protested.

"Though I can't say he's wrong about that. Most Midgardians are awfully close-minded. I've heard it's different in Asgard. Is it considered about as evil as being... Well, Jotunn. No offense," Charles said quickly.

"No, I understand. I do think it's different in Asgard. I've never heard of any like us getting burned at the stake, hanged, or getting executed in any other way," Loki said.

"Here it is, Thor's room," Charles said. "Good luck."

"Listen, Thor and I are not... together, or anything. As far as I know, he's attracted to women only, and I don't think he'd even talk to me if he knew I was like this," Loki replied.

"He doesn't seem like that, but whatever you wish to think." Charles turned away and left.

Loki took a deep breath and entered the room.

"Thor? Are you awake?" Loki looked at him. He seemed to be asleep. Loki sat on a chair by Thor's bed.

"Well, um, hello. I just wanted to say hello. That's all." Loki felt rather awkward. "I better go."

Thor shifted position in his bed before yawning and opening his eyes.

"Loki?"

"How're you feeling?" Loki asked.

"Ugh, not very well. A little sick, to be honest. How long have I been here?" Thor asked, sitting up and looking around.

"You've been unconscious for five days," Loki said.

"Five... I need to meet with the king. We need to discuss an alliance..." Thor trailed off and rubbed his forehead.

"You need to rest. The poison had more of an effect on you than it did on me, it was affecting you longer," Loki replied.

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Thor said with a sigh.

"Thor," Loki cleared his throat. "About what was happening before the Jotunn attack-"

"No, I should apologize. I don't know what came over me, but know that it meant nothing. It was wrong, and I promise you it won't happen again," Thor assured then laughed a little bit. "Perhaps it was a good thing those Jotunns attacked. It prevented us from doing something we'd regret."

Loki rose from the chair. "Yes, I suppose so," He remarked coldly. "I'll send the healer in to make sure you're alright. I'm going to go dine with the rest of our friends." He left and slammed the door.

Thor sunk into his feather bed. "Now I've really done it."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

A.N. Thank you to all my followers, old and new, and to all who reviewed my last chapter and the ones before it. You all are very appreciated and I hope you enjoyed this (Overdue.) chapter.

Oh, and Via Lactea is the Latin name for the Milky Way.


	7. Chapter Six

Edit: Minor typos fixed.

Chapter Six

-/-/-/-/-/

February 4th, 1639.

-/-/-/-/-/

So, after the incident that left him fuming silently on the inside, Loki went back to his room, found Charles, and asked him where the dining hall was.

"Just follow the hall to the left. You'll come to a staircase, follow it down and then continue walking forward until you see a large double door. It's the dining hall," Charles explained.

"Thank you," Loki replied curtly.

"I don't need to read your mind to know it didn't go well with Thor," Charles said carefully.

Loki was silent for a moment. "You're right. I was... I was mistaken, he feels nothing." Loki cleared his throat, "You're lucky to have someone like Erik." Then he left.

Charles just sighed and left the room.

-/-/-/-/-/-/

Loki entered the dining hall, trying his best to be quiet, but he failed miserably. The large doors made a creaking sound that alerted everyone to his presence.

"Loki, nice of you to join us. Sit down," Steve said, gesturing for him to join them and two women, one of whom Loki recognized as the woman who helped him and Thor at the river.

"Hey, where's Charlie?" Tony asked, fixing his posture and sitting upright in his chair, he previously was slouching. "I wanted to talk to him some more."

Steve scoffed. "Yeah, 'talk,' I bet."

"Seripusly?" Bruce sent a tired glance in their direction before turning to Loki.

"This is Maria Hill, she's the king's advisor," Bruce gestured to the other woman sitting at the table who had almost unnaturally straight hair. "And you've already met Natasha Romanoff," He finished, and the red headed woman – Natasha, apparently. – nodded in his direction.

"Nice to meet you, and you too, Natasha. Thank you. For saving my life," Loki said, somewhat awkwardly.

"It was no trouble at all, it was the least I could do," She responded.

"Natasha's the best female warrior in all of Midgard," Tony said.

"I'm the only female warrior in Midgard," Natasha countered.

"Yeah, but none of them would be-"

Tony stopped mid-sentence as the door opened again, and Thor walked in. He looked almost just like himself again.

"Prince Thor, welcome to Midgard," Maria Hill spoke up. "Not really the best experience you could've had so far, but that's in the past."

Loki was refusing to even look at Thor, and instead he started eating. The only other person who seemed to have realized there was food on the long table was Tony.

"I need to speak with King Fury. It concerns a matter of utmost importance," Thor said, the urgency of the situation evident in the tone of his voice.

Loki was really doing his best not to even give Thor a glance.

"His Highness is preoccupied with other matters at this moment, I'm afraid he won't be able to see you for at least a fortnight," Maria responded.

"A fortnight?" Tony scoffed.

"I wouldn't be surprised if King Odin and his armies are dead by then!" Steve exclaimed.

"I can't fit you in before then," Maria replied calmly.

"Rubbish and you know it," Natasha said. "King Fury has nothing on his schedule. Everybody knows that you're just concerned about the treaty."

"Treaty?" Bruce asked.

Thor looked rather peeved and sighed, he sounded frustrated as he spoke, "After the last war, Midgard made a treaty with Jotunheim. Jotunheim won't attack them as long as Midgard doesn't attack them first."

Loki could tell that Thor wasn't pleased with this arrangement, but he still refrained from speaking.

"And all of Midgard knows that Maria Hill is, well, likely *the* biggest supporter of this treaty," Natasha said with more than a hint of bitterness. Apparently, she wasn't Hill's biggest fan.

Hill looked like she was about to say something but then she closed her eyes.

"I don't care if you're an uncultured commoner or... Or whatever. Just stop *stuffing food in your mouth*," She hissed.

Loki looked up from his plate to see who she was so annoyed with and almost spit out his mouthful of food when he realized she was talking about him. Tony didn't even bother to hide his sniggering.

Thor gave him a look of sympathy.

Loki realized he had been stuffing food in his mouth without even bothering swallowing, and he probably looked like a Midgardian... whatever the creatures were that stored food in their cheeks. Brilliant.

Loki just swallowed and still didn't say anything.

"Fine," Maria gave a resigned sigh. "I'll go inform King Fury of your arrival. Until then... sit here and eat." She gave a glance at Loki and his friends and then left. Natasha looked at them all before following, probably to make sure Maria actually did what she said she would.

Thor, the insufferable man, went and sat next to Loki.

"Nice to see you're feeling better, sir," Steve said.

"Loki was practically dying with worry while we were taking you here," Tony said.

"I was not!" Loki said.

"No need to be defensive," Thor said with a smile. "I'm quite glad you cared."

"Honestly, I could care less, I just didn't want to let King Odin down," Loki lied smoothly.

If he didn't know better, Loki would've thought Thor looked almost... disappointed.

"So, I see you all made it here safely. Was there any trouble getting here?" Thor asked.

"You have *no* idea," Bruce muttered.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Loki retired to his chambers as the rest of the team filled Thor in on all that happened to them when they were making their way to Midgard. He really didn't want to spend any more time around Thor than he had to, it was extremely uncomfortable.

He was nearly asleep when there was a knock on his door.

Loki sighed, "Come in."

Ah, so the offender of his privacy was Erik. That wasn't bad, at least it wasn't Thor.

"I take it you're feeling better," Erik said, entering the room.

"Depends on what you mean by 'better,'" Loki replied.

Erik didn't say anything but just closed the door.

"Thor is so frustrating sometimes," Loki burst out, not even trying to hold it in.

"Go ahead and vent, sometimes Charles gets on my nerves too," Erik said, sitting himself in a wooden chair.

"I just... I don't understand him! Before the Jotunns attacked us, we were talking, and he was going to-" Loki stopped abruptly, but continued, "He was going to kiss me. Then he got shot by an arrow. Now, he says it was a mistake and he had no idea what he was thinking! He is so... aggravating! Why can't he make up his mind?"

"I can't help you there, but I can sympathize. Charles was like that before we got together, and in Midgard, we could get killed for being like we are, so you have to be very... delicate, when talking about it, and very careful who you talk to it about. Charles and I had been friends for nearly a year, and I'd been attracted to him for months. I was going insane, and then, one day, he just kissed me. It's all history after that," Erik replied.

Loki scoffed. "You're lucky, I think Thor's either really stupid, oblivious, or he just doesn't feel the same way."

"I wish I could help, but I can help you with your appearance," Erik offered.

"You can teach me the spell you use to keep me looking normal?" Loki asked.

"Yes, I can. King Fury delays things so much, you'll probably be waiting for a week before he'll actually see you. We have time," Erik replied.

"I'd like that very much."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Thor was having a good time talking to his group, but he really wished Loki would've stayed. Why would he leave?

Oh, it was that blasted kiss. Or, almost-kiss.

Thor couldn't understand what had come over him. Why would he want to kiss a man, let alone Loki? He wasn't like that.

He didn't have a problem against people like that. In fact, he was relatively sure that his great uncle was like that. What did they call it?

"Well, friends, it's been fun, but I'm exhausted. I think I shall retire for now, but I'll make sure to see you tomorrow," Thor announced, rising from the table.

"Well, sleep well," Tony got up as well. "I'm going to go visit an old friend."

"Leave Charles alone, Tony," Steve groaned.

"Seriously, what do you have against that guy?" Bruce asked.

"Nothing, he's actually a friend of mine, I just like to bother him," Tony replied.

Thor left as the banter continued, but instead of going straight to his room, he went to find Loki.

He was feeling quite lost when he bumped into a man with wavy brown hair.

"Excuse me, but can you direct me to the chambers of Loki Agnison?" Thor inquired.

"Prince Thor, you should be staying in your chambers and resting!" The man said, but shook his head and offered his hand. "Charles Xavier. I'm the healer who's been taking care of you."

"Ah, alright. Loki's room?" Thor asked, feeling slightly impatient as he shook Charles' hand.

"Well, you found your way to the second level, apparently, so his room will be just down that corridor," Charles said, gesturing to a hall to their right.

"Thank you." Thor began to walk away.

"He's a little annoyed with you right now, so be careful what you say," Charles warned.

Thor nodded as he left. "Annoyed? Hmm, why would he be annoyed?" Thor wondered to himself. Perhaps the you-know-what didn't anger him, that would be good.

Thor wondered why he was still talking to himself about that.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Loki had been practicing with Erik for less than an hour, but he was already tired. Magic does that to you.

"Why don't you go back to your chambers, we'll continue training tomorrow," Erik said.

Loki sighed. "Yes, I suppose that's a good idea."

"I'll walk you back to your chambers," Erik said. "Can't have you getting lost, can we?"

They reached Loki's room and found Thor walking up to it.

"Prince Thor," Loki greeted.

"Loki, I was looking for you," Thor smiled, but the smile faded slightly when he saw Erik.

"Is there a problem?" Thor asked Erik.

"Not at all, *Prince* Thor. I'm Erik Lehnsherr, by the way," Erik said with a smile and offered a hand to Thor, who rejected it. He turned to Loki and put a hand on his shoulder. Thor felt a random, overwhelming urge to push it off.

"I'll come get you tomorrow, alright?" Erik said.

"Very well." Loki nodded, slightly confused above the hand-on-shoulder thing.

Thor gave a glare towards Erik as he walked away.

"What do you want?" Loki asked, his tone less friendly than when he'd been talking to Erik.

Thor was taken aback slightly by Loki's somewhat accusatory tone.

"I was wondering why you left the table earlier," Thor said.

"I didn't feel the need to be there any longer," Loki replied icily.

"What did I do? Why are you being so bitter towards me?" Thor asked incredulously.

"I just think we should keep our interaction to a minimum," Loki replied.

"A minimum? I thought we were friends," Thor said in confusion.

Loki smiled sadly. "See, that's the problem right there," He took a breath. "And I'm saying this for your sake."

Loki went inside his room and closed the door, and when he was sure Thor was gone, he threw himself on his bed.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Clint was following Bruce around. Why? Because he was interesting. That and Loki wasn't talking to him. (Or anybody for that matter.)

But he really wanted to do something else. So, he quit following the poor guy and left the room.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Thor was walking in a corridor in the castle, and then he shivered. Did it suddenly get colder in the room?

He thought he felt someone breathing in his ear.

And then he heard a voice.

"So, you're the fabulous prince that my darling Loki is so hung up on, I really don't see what the fuss is about."

Thor turned quickly and fell with a girlish shriek when he saw the owner of the voice.

It was a wispy, bluish, translucent spirit, floating right next to him.

"What in Asgard are you?!" He exclaimed.

"I'm a spirit. Clint Barton. Midgardian spirit, to be precise," The spirit said, and then looked him up and down. "Hmm, I guess you're partially attractive."

Thor gaped.

"C'mon, close your mouth, you'll catch flies," Clint said, waving a wispy hand around.

"I... uh..."

"See, you're dreaming," Clint said.

"Dreaming? Oh, that explains it," Thor said, relieved. Now that he thought about it, he remembered going to sleep in his chambers, but he didn't remember waking up.

"Yeah, I'm Loki's... guardian spirit," Clint said. "And my job is to protect him from guys like you." He jabbed a finger in Thor's chest, but it just slid through.

Clint muttered a curse under his breath and closed his eyes for a minute. When he opened them, he wasn't a translucent blue anymore. He was a normal looking Midgardian, with brown hair, and wearing a tunic and trousers. He certainly looked less freaky. He poked Thor in the chest and it didn't slide through. He looked pleased.

"Oh, so you're normal now?" Thor looked confused. "I didn't do that."

Clint rolled his eyes. "I'm visiting your dream, but I can control the way I look here."

Clint looked at his hands.

"Wish I could look like this all the time." He sighed. "Anyway," He clapped his hands together. "Time to get to the point. You seriously need to stop breaking Loki's heart. Well, you only did it once, but you had better go and fix it," Clint said.

"I don't know what you mean," Thor protested. "He said we should keep interaction to a minimum, *he* doesn't like *me*."

Clint put a hand on his face. "No, you idiot, he did that because he likes you and he's afraid he'll do something like kiss you and then you'll get kicked out of princehood or something, I don't know, but he's seriously like, wanting you right now."

Thor looked at the spirit in confusion. "Loki doesn't want me. I tried to kiss him, but it was a... uh... friendly kiss."

Clint laughed. "Friendly kiss? Whoa, serious denial here. I think," Clint rubbed his hands together. "I think you like him, and I *know* he likes you, so get your backside out of bed and go talk to him!"

Clint nodded, pleased with himself. "Oh, and you don't blink in dreams. The more you know," He said with a grin.

And then Thor blinked, and suddenly he was in his bed, in his room, in the castle, in Midgard.

Thor brushed off everything the 'spirit' had said with a laugh, and then went back to sleep.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

After the encounter with Thor, Erik returned to the library and studied his magic the rest of the day (Stopping for supper.) before going to Charles' chambers.

"Well, you were certainly out late. I missed you." Charles greeted Erik with a chaste kiss. "How'd it go with Loki?"

"Well, he's learning the spell quite splendidly, and I think Thor's more attracted to him than his stubborn, prince self will admit."

"Oh, you're not going to be 'helpful', are you?" Charles said with a smile.

"Of course not," Erik said in mock surprise. "I just 'think Loki's rather attractive so I'm going to make it known to Thor whenever he's around.'"

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

February 7th, 1639.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Thor wasn't happy. In fact, he felt really grumpy. Grumpier than he'd felt in quite a long time.

He hardly got to see Loki at all, because Loki was hanging out with this Erik fellow *all the time*.

He was going to try to talk to him again, and he knew Loki was in the castle's enormous library, so that's where he went.

Thor entered the library and saw Loki and Erik sitting in a pair of chairs in a corner.

He suddenly felt very angry. (Not grumpy. Difference.) Erik was leaning in so close to Loki, and he was being quite flirtatious. Or, his smiles were. Thor really couldn't hear what they were saying, but Loki was smiling too.

Who did this sleazy, sneaky, flirtatious sorcerer think he was? Flirting with *his* Loki that way.

Where did that come from? 'Thor's' Loki? Thor shook it off as affection of a friendly, brotherly type.

So, as a brother protecting his little brother from a guy with obviously bad intentions, Thor marched over to give this Erik man a piece of his mind.

"Thor, how are you?"

Loki was talking to him again. New development. Even if he didn't give him a smile, he probably would soon.

"I'm fine, I just wanted to see how you were doing," Thor said.

"We're doing quite nicely, aren't we, Loki?" Erik said with a grin.

"Yes, quite lovely," Loki nodded.

"I'm teaching Loki some new spells, he's amazing at magic, I'm surprised he's not working at the castle as your head sorcerer yet," Erik said, and then he *put a hand on Loki's knee*.

Thor bit his tongue.

"I'm not that good," Loki rolled his eyes.

"Yes you are. You're above the other sorcerers in Asgard, I'm sure," Erik said, still not removing his hand.

Thor's tongue was bleeding now.

"And you are a shameless flatterer," Loki said with a raise of his eyebrow.

"And proud," Erik grinned, finally removing his hand.

Thor really wanted to give this man a good punch in the face.

"You know, shameless flirting could get you fired, I'm sure," Thor said, irritation present in his voice.

"Shameless flirting? I don't know what you're talking about," Erik denied, packing up his books.

"Thor, what are you on about?" Loki asked, he was confused.

"Listen here-" Thor was just about to give Erik that piece of his mind he'd been thinking about, but then the doors to the library flew open.

"There you two are!"

Thor backed away from Erik, Loki looked towards the door and saw Tony standing there.

"King Fury finally made time to see us! We have to go!" Tony grabbed their arms and dragged them away.

"Goodbye, Erik! Thank you for your time!" Loki shouted as he ran off.

"It was my pleasure!" Erik said.

"Huh, I'm sure," Thor grumbled.

"What is your problem? Erik's my friend, just leave him alone," Loki said.

"I was your friend," Thor said.

"Leave the domestics away from me, if you please," Tony replied.

"We're not having a domestic," Loki said icily.

Thor just sulked until they got to the throne room.

Bruce and Steve were already there.

The king had dark skin, and an eyepatch (Just like Odin, Thor thought.), he was sitting in his throne and he looked over the arrivals.

"Prince Thor, I assume," He said, looking to the taller blond man, and ignoring Loki, who resisting the urge to give the king a glare.

"Yes, your Highness, and these are my friends and fellow warriors, Loki, Bruce, Anthony, and Steven," Thor announced.

Fury ignored him. "I know why you're here."

"Yes, King Odin of Asgard humbly request troops to assist in the upcoming war between Asgard and Jotunheim," Thor said, doing his best to sound diplomatic and princely.

Fury sighed and rubbed his one good eye. "I'm afraid I must decline."

Maria Hill stood next to him and looked somewhat pleased with the decision.

"Your Highness, if I may speak freely," Fury nodded. "It is said that you and King Odin have a somewhat close friendship. He needs your help, he will die otherwise," Loki replied.

"It is not our job to get involved in the wars of the other lands," Maria interjected.

"With all due respect, this isn't just our war. If Jotunheim takes Asgard, you know Midgard will be next," Steve replied.

"Maria, what does the treaty say about war?" Fury asked.

"It says, and I quote, "If any troops are sent and endorsed by the current king of Midgard to fight Jotunn troops led by the king of Jotunheim, this truce is void, and Jotunheim has license to march on your land and/or kill your subjects, seize your land, and overthrow your kingdom,"" Maria read from a scroll.

"What demon possessed you and made you agree to that?" Tony scoffed. Steve gave him a sharp jab in the ribs in response.

"It was a good idea at the time," Fury replied. "Same goes if Jotunn troops are sent to kill us."

"Sir, they will violate the truce before you do, trust me," Bruce said.

"Enough," Fury rise from his throne and glared at them all. "I will not violate our truce, I will not send troops, and I must ask you to vacate our land by tomorrow morning."

"Sir, I beg you to reconsider, my father will die, Asgardian citizens will be taken as slaves, you must reconsider!" Thor insisted.

"Must?" Fury said, he signaled for the guards to usher them out of the room.

"I'll make sure my father knows of this before he dies fighting the monsters you've created a treaty with!" Thor yelled before storming out.

Loki bit his lip. He still didn't want to talk to Thor, but he didn't want to have him just sit and stew all alone, so he swallowed his fear and followed Thor to his chambers.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

A.N. Well, that was longer than I intended.

OH WELL.

I like long chapters.

Anyways, reviews please! I'd like to see if all my followers are still reading, so if you're still reading, please review this chapter so I know who to thank at the end of the story for the follows and all.


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